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1971 Detroit Lions season
NFL team season
NFL team season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| team | Detroit Lions |
| year | 1971 |
| record | 7–6–1 |
| division_place | 2nd NFC Central |
| coach | Joe Schmidt |
| stadium | Tiger Stadium |
| playoffs | *Did not qualify* |
| shortnavlink | Lions seasons |
The 1971 Detroit Lions season was their 42nd in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only seven games.
Mired in adversity, the 1971 season turned especially tragic for the Lions and the NFL when, during their week 6 hosting of the Chicago Bears, Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed on the playing field. Unresponsive, Hughes was pronounced dead later that day of heart failure. Since 1971, no Detroit player has worn Hughes' #85 jersey save on special permission of the Hughes family.
Offseason
NFL draft
Main article: 1971 NFL draft
Notes
- Detroit traded QB Greg Barton to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' second-round selection (30th) and second- and third-round selections in 1972.
- Detroit traded DE Denis Moore to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' sixth-round selection (150th).
- Detroit traded its tenth-round selection (256th) to Philadelphia in exchange for DB Len Persin.
Roster
| Detroit Lions roster |
|---|
| **Quarterbacks** |
Schedule
| Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Week | Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Date | Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Opponent | Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Result | Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Record | Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Venue | Detroit Lions | year=1971 | border=2}}" | Attendance | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **[Minnesota Vikings](1971-minnesota-vikings-season)** | **L** 13–16 | 0–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 26 | at [New England Patriots](1971-new-england-patriots-season) | **W** 34–7 | 1–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,057 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 3 | [Atlanta Falcons](1971-atlanta-falcons-season) | **W** 41–38 | 2–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 10 | **[Green Bay Packers](1971-green-bay-packers-season)** | **W** 31–28 | 3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 17 | at [Houston Oilers](1971-houston-oilers-season) | **W** 31–7 | 4–1 | Astrodome | 45,885 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 24 | **[Chicago Bears](1971-chicago-bears-season)** | **L** 23–28 | 4–2 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| at **[Green Bay Packers](1971-green-bay-packers-season)** | **T** 14–14 | 4–2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 7 | at [Denver Broncos](1971-denver-broncos-season) | **W** 24–20 | 5–2–1 | Mile High Stadium | 51,200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 14 | [Los Angeles Rams](1971-los-angeles-rams-season) | **L** 13–21 | 5–3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 21 | at **[Chicago Bears](1971-chicago-bears-season)** | **W** 28–3 | 6–3–1 | Soldier Field | 55,049 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 25 | [Kansas City Chiefs](1971-kansas-city-chiefs-season) | **W** 32–21 | 7–3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 5 | [Philadelphia Eagles](1971-philadelphia-eagles-season) | **L** 20–23 | 7–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| at **[Minnesota Vikings](1971-minnesota-vikings-season)** | **L** 10–29 | 7–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 49,784 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 19 | at [San Francisco 49ers](1971-san-francisco-49ers-season) | **L** 27–31 | 7–6–1 | Candlestick Park | 45,580 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Season summary
Week 6
First quarter
- DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. ''Lions 3–0. '''Drive:'''''
- CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). ''Bears 7–3. '''Drive:'''''
- DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. ''Bears 7–6. '''Drive:''''' Second quarter
- CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). ''Bears 14–6. '''Drive:'''''
- DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13.
- DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). ''Lions 20–14. '''Drive:'''''
- CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). ''Bears 21–20. '''Drive:''''' Third quarter
- DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. ''Lions 23–21. '''Drive:''''' Fourth quarter
- CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). ''Bears 28–23. '''Drive:''''' ;Top passers
- CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD
- DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT ;Top rushers
- CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD
- DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards ;Top receivers
- CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD
- DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards
Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game.
References
References
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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